In November, Louisiana payrolls rose by 13,000 jobs, or 0.9 percent -- the largest jump in percentage from October levels of any state in the nation.

Payroll employment pushed to an all-time high of 1.96 million in the state, moving beyond the pre-Hurricane Katrina peak of 1.95 million for the first time, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released Friday.

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At the same time, the separate unemployment survey showed that the state's jobless rate fell to 5.8 percent. That's down from 6.6 percent in October and below the 7.1 percent unemployment rate of November 2011.

The last time Louisiana had an unemployment rate below 6 percent was in January 2009.

The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 120,000 from 138,000 in October. In November 2011, 146,000 Louisianans were unemployed.